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Living With a Dairy or Gluten Intolerance – Guest Post

Tracy from Healthline contacted me a couple months ago asking if I would feature a story (on any topic of my choosing) composed by her team for my blog. I asked Tracy and her team to write about dairy and gluten intolerances since this is something that has impacted my treatment (and many other people in the US, not just Lymies). Today, I am so excited to share with you this guest post about food allergies / intolerances.

I agreed to publish her article and was anxious to see the story come back so I could share it with all of you! Now that my new site is up I figured it would be a great way to get Healthline’s content out to all of you.

Living With a Dairy or Gluten Intolerance

Thousands of people suffer from dairy or gluten intolerance, and sometimes both. This simply means that their bodies do not accept these products like normal people’s bodies would. Usually, they will become very sick to heir stomachs, have severe headaches and cramping, as well as diarrhea and many other symptoms, depending on the person.

Dairy intolerance, also known as lactose intolerance, is especially common in younger children. Many individuals will grow out of this by their adult years, but some do not. However, gluten intolerances are much less likely to be grown out of, and these people must deal with them for the rest of their lives. Living with these problems can be very difficult, especially when people do not know that they have them.

Awareness

A lot of people begin experiencing the different symptoms of intolerance when they consume something containing dairy or gluten, or both; but, many times, they do not know that this is what caused their sickness. Vomiting and severe stomach pain, as well as weight gain, and sneezing and coughing constantly are a few of these symptoms. They are often so vague that it is hard for doctor’s to pinpoint what is going on without a vast array of specific tests.

In fact, some people even go years without knowing that they have such an intolerance. That is why it is imperative that individuals who have these specific symptoms consider getting allergy and other tests that can rule out any serious issues.

Living With It

Once people realize what is causing their symptoms, they can take many steps to avoid whatever it is that they are allergic to. However, sometimes even avoidance cannot entirely reduce the problems. In these cases, people may need to take certain medications to alleviate the issues. These pills can reduce pain and nausea and make life a little bit easier.

Trying to avoid all of the foods that cause dairy and gluten intolerance can be extremely difficult, but there are all kinds of products out there today that make it one hundred percent possible. For example, switching almond milk for regular milk is one solution. There are also plenty of companies that produce gluten free foods and drinks, though they are often pretty expensive.

The Cost and the Benefit

This is why it is important for people to weight the costs and benefits of living a dairy and gluten free life. If they know they have certain intolerances, and the symptoms caused by them are very severe, these individuals should probably not risk trying to tough it out, per say. Even though it might cost a lot more to purchase the right foods, it will be worth it for them to live a pain and symptom free life.

On the other hand, if the symptoms are manageable and mild, some individuals who are financially struggling may decide to ride out their intolerances because the cost outweighs the benefit. Even so, medical attention and advice should always be sought before making this kind of decision, as it can have many different unpredictable effects on the body.

Dairy and gluten intolerances can be a major pain for those suffering from them. However, it is not all together impossible to live a life void of these products. Sometimes people do not even know why they are so sick; and, often the answer is as simple as cutting out dairy or gluten from their diets. Remember, it is important to always seek medical care if symptoms arise or become very serious, as they could be signs of a severe intolerance of some sort.

Valerie Johnston is a health and fitness writer located in East Texas. With ambitions of one day running a marathon, writing for Healthline.com ensures she keeps up-to-date on all of the latest health and fitness news.

If you have a gluten-free and/or dairy free recipe please share it with us in the comments! Thanks!